Pope's warning of dictatorship of relativism includes abortion, says pro life group SPUC

16 September 2010

Pope's warning of "dictatorship of relativism" includes abortion, says pro-life group SPUC London, 16 September 2010: Pope Benedict's warning of a "dictatorship of relativism" this evening is closely linked with his teaching against abortion, euthanasia and embryo destruction, says the pro-life group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC).

The Pope, in his homily at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow this evening referred to "our times, when a 'dictatorship of relativism' threatens to obscure the unchanging truth about man’s nature".

Last year Pope Benedict explicitly linked abortion, euthanasia and embryo destruction with this "dictatorship of relativism”.

In an address on 16 December last year on the thought of the English medieval thinker John of Salisbury, the Pope said: “[O]nly those laws are equitable that protect the sanctity of human life and reject the legalization of abortion, euthanasia and limitless genetic experimentation ... If not, what John of Salisbury calls the 'tyranny of the sovereign' or, what we would call 'the dictatorship of relativism', ends up taking over...” Commenting on Pope Benedict's homily this evening, John Smeaton, SPUC director, said: "The truth about man's nature is that human life begins at conception, and has an equal right to life with all other members of the human family. Britain, as the geopolitical epicentre of the culture of death, has often been the first country to obscure that unchanging truth and pass laws allowing abortion, euthanasia and embryo destruction. We call upon all Catholics, other Christians and those concerned for our common humanity to join the pro-life movement in resisting the 'dictatorship of relativism'."